Former UN envoy chosen to oversee Trump-backed Gaza peace board

Israel’s prime minister has said that Nickolay Mladenov, a former United Nations envoy to the Middle East, has been selected to take on a senior role overseeing the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, under a US-backed initiative revived by President Donald Trump. Speaking after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu described the Bulgarian diplomat as the designated director-general of what has been termed Trump’s Board of Peace, a body intended to supervise the implementation of the ceasefire process in Gaza. There has been no formal confirmation from Washington.

The proposed appointment is intended to inject momentum into a peace plan that has struggled to move beyond its opening phase since an October ceasefire halted more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas. That initial truce led to the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel, but it has since been punctuated by accusations of breaches on both sides.

According to Israeli officials, Mladenov would serve as the on-the-ground administrator of the board, once its membership is formally announced by Donald Trump later this month. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Mladenov is the administration’s preferred choice for the role.

Under the plan outlined by the Trump administration, the board would be tasked with supervising a new technocratic Palestinian administration, overseeing the disarmament of Hamas, coordinating the deployment of an international security force, managing further Israeli troop withdrawals, and supporting large-scale reconstruction in Gaza.

Mladenov is no stranger to the region. A former Bulgarian defence and foreign minister, he served as the United Nations envoy to Iraq before becoming the UN’s Middle East peace envoy between 2015 and 2020. During that period, he was frequently involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to contain escalations between Israel and Hamas.

While the ceasefire has largely held, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains precarious. Palestinian health officials say more than 400 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since October, which Israel says were carried out in response to violations of the truce. Hamas has yet to return the remains of one Israeli hostage, a police officer killed during the 7 October 2023 attacks that triggered the war.

That unresolved case continues to weigh heavily on negotiations. Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said this week that search efforts have resumed for Ran Gvili, the 24-year-old officer abducted during the initial assault.

The human cost of the fragile ceasefire remains visible on the ground. In northern Gaza, relatives of an 11-year-old girl, Hamsa Housou, said she was killed by Israeli gunfire after her family returned to what had been designated a safe zone. Her uncle, Khamis Housou, described carrying her to a clinic, only to find the ambulance there had a flat tyre.

“They say there is a ceasefire and that the war has stopped,” he said outside Shifa Hospital. “Is this only through the media, while every day there are explosions and shooting?”

Israel’s military said it was not aware of any strike-related casualties in the area on the day of her death and reiterated that any military action since the ceasefire began had been in response to violations.

Diplomatic pressure is also growing. Meeting in Cairo on Thursday, Egyptian and European Union leaders urged the deployment of an international stabilisation force to oversee the ceasefire. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned that progress remained blocked.

“The situation is extremely severe,” she said. “Hamas refuses to disarm, while Israel is restricting international NGOs, putting humanitarian access at serious risk.”

Concerns over aid provision have been echoed by UNRWA, whose commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, warned that limiting the agency’s operations could leave a dangerous gap in health, education and social services. Speaking in Ankara, he said no other organisation had the same level of community trust, a point underscored in recent UN briefings on Gaza’s humanitarian needs.

Whether the appointment of Nickolay Mladenov can help move the ceasefire beyond its fragile opening stage remains uncertain. For now, the proposed role reflects a renewed attempt to translate diplomatic frameworks into something that can hold on the ground, in a conflict where political decisions continue to shape daily life with devastating consequences.

For more clear, independent reporting on international diplomacy and its human consequences, follow EyeOnLondon. We welcome thoughtful discussion in the comments.

[Image Credit | AP News]

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